Automated warehouse for an integrated, proactive and safe supply chain, Kaj Fahllund. Vice President, Pulp & Paper, Pesmel

PAPERTECHNOLOGYINTERNATIONAL
Automated warehouse for an integrated, proactive and safe supply chain
Kaj Fahllund. Vice President, Pulp & Paper, Pesmel
INTRODUCTION:
When comparing different alternatives for automated warehouses, it’s vital to examine the financial impact with a wider perspective
to see and understand the real benefits and limitations different alternatives can offer, and how these affect the connecting processes.
A properly done cost (TCO) analysis provides a broader view, not only to clarify the investment goals, but also to compare different
alternatives.
Why an automated warehouse?
In the past, the need for warehouse automation in paper
mills was mainly related to operational volumes. When stacking
rolls on the warehouse floor using forklifts got too hectic, overhead
cranes were taken in use. This improved the warehouse’s density
and safety. By eliminating forklift traffic in the warehouse, the driving
aisles are also eliminated, and the available space for actual product
storing could be fully utilized. Forklift aisles, needed to manage the
inventory, easily take up 50% of the floor space in practice. Also, the
roll stacks’ heights could be doubled with cranes from 5x to 10x of
the roll diameter, which also increases the storing density per m2 by
raising the warehouse roof from 12 meters up to 23 meters.
New era - new requirements
Today, the reasons for warehouse automation have shifted
from the need to cope with bigger volumes to better control of the
inventory as part of the supply chain. Reasons for this development
is the well-known industry’s structural changes due to the
digitalization combined with raised sustainability demands.
Figure 1 (Before) & 2 (After): Automating warehouse operations
lays the foundation for streamlining the entire supply chain.
These megatrends have changed the direction and mindset
in the paper industry, as it has done almost in every other business
too. There is more information available for all, and there are more
alternatives to choose from.
To compete as a producer in this environment, automation
is a must to be able to respond to customers’ preferences efficiently.
Suppliers need to be able to manage the whole supply chain from
raw materials to order fulfillment better than their competitors to
survive and serve with required accuracy, speed, and quality.
Warehouse automation is cutting what used to be two weeks’ lead
times down to two days, with 100% accuracy and 0% broke. In
distributed manual warehousing, rolls could be handled as many
as 12 times before dispatching them to the customer. In centralized
automated warehouses roll handling is reduced to only one
movement in and one out to dispatch.
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